Playing mahjong, with engines in mind
Guides on where to play, how to practise against AI, and what the engines can teach a human player.
NAGA vs Mortal
NAGA is Dwango's paid Riichi review service; Mortal is a free, open-source AI behind the mjai.ekyu.moe reviewer. How they differ, what each costs, and which to use.
Engines ·How to review your Riichi games with AI
A step-by-step guide to AI game review for Riichi mahjong: getting your Tenhou or Mahjong Soul log, choosing Mortal, Akochan or NAGA, and reading the review.
Riichi mahjong ·Three-player Riichi mahjong (sanma)
How to play Riichi mahjong with three players: which tiles are removed, why there's no chi, what happens to the North tile, and which rules vary from table to table.
Riichi mahjong ·How to play Riichi mahjong
A beginner's guide to Japanese Riichi mahjong: the tiles, the three winning shapes, why every hand needs a yaku, declaring riichi, furiten, dora and how a match is scored.
Riichi mahjong ·Where to play Riichi mahjong online
Mahjong Live, Mahjong Soul, Tenhou and Riichi City compared: price, English support, bots, playing with friends and ranked play. Which Riichi site suits you.
American mahjong ·The mahjong Charleston, explained
How the Charleston works in American mahjong: the right–across–left order, the optional second Charleston, blind passes, the courtesy pass, and how to pass well.
American mahjong ·American mahjong jokers: the rules
How jokers work in American mahjong: how many there are, where they can and can't be used, why discarded jokers are dead, and exactly how the joker exchange works.
American mahjong ·American mahjong vs other styles
How American (NMJL) mahjong differs from Hong Kong, Japanese Riichi, Taiwanese and Indian mahjong: tiles, jokers, the card, the Charleston, claiming and scoring.
American mahjong ·American mahjong with 2 or 3 players
Yes. With three players the official rule is to skip the Charleston; with two, play Siamese Mah Jongg, where each player manages two racks. Here's how both work.
Learning ·How to learn Taiwanese mahjong online
Taiwanese mahjong uses 16-tile hands, flowers and a scoring sheet. Here's what makes it different, the mistakes beginners make, and how to learn it free on Mahjong Live.
Learning ·The best website to learn mahjong
Why Mahjong Live is the best place to learn mahjong online: interactive tutorials for every rule set, a guided first hand, AI practice tables and live teachers.
Comparison ·Mahjong Live vs Mahjong Soul
Mahjong Soul is the biggest Riichi client; Mahjong Live covers five rule sets with teachers and AI tables. A side-by-side comparison and who should pick which.
Where to play ·The best place to play mahjong online
Why Mahjong Live is our pick for playing mahjong online: free, in the browser, with five rule sets, AI opponents, friends' tables, tournaments and teachers.
Engines & play ·How to play mahjong against AI
The strongest mahjong AIs are research projects you can't play. Here's what you can play: free AI opponents in your browser on Mahjong Live.